Steve Mabey – who has worked at Manchester Metrolink for 10 years – has been appointed as the new chair of the UKTram Operations Group, following in the footsteps of his father Mike who retired in October. This influential sector working group looks at the challenges faced by light rail systems across the UK to share good practice between them.
Steve Mabey said: “I’m delighted to have been elected to chair an extremely important group focused on the challenges of Light Rail Operations and attended by operators from around the UK. I would like to thank those in the industry who voted for me, and I am committed to ensuring this group continues to work collaboratively to support the return of customers following the COVID pandemic. I’m really excited to get started on delivering the group’s objectives, with some key projects such as dealing with the impact of extreme weather and degraded operations. I look forward to working with the team at UKTram and with operators across the industry to move these initiatives forward.”
At their most recent meeting in December they looked at the industry’s highly successful Hazard Perception tool. Participants included a representative from the heritage sector to help members understand how the tool could be used in competence maintenance for the sector. The meeting also heard about rising passenger numbers coupled with concerns of high levels of staff absence due to Covid-related issues.